---
title: intonation — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «intonation» in the school dictionary: The rise and fall of your voice when you speak, which can change the meaning: a question often goes up at the end. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/intonation/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [I](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/) / intonation

# intonation

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, rise, question, voice, yes, intonation · **What happens:** speak, change, go up, rise, sing, play · **To what, where:** meaning, end, tune, rising intonation, story, Australian speech · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«intonation» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [intonation in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/intonation.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The rise and fall of your voice when you speak, which can change the meaning: a question often goes up at the end.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:m1:1
# text = The rise and fall of your voice when you speak, which can change the meaning: a question often goes up at the end.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rise	rise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	fall	fall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
8	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	10	mark	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	speak	speak	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
13	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	21	punct	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	nsubj	_	_
20	often	often	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
21	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	conj	_	_
22	up	up	ADP	RP	_	21	compound:prt	_	_
23	at	at	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **change** | can | the rise of your voice and fall | the meaning |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meaning=Patient |
| 3 | **go up** | present | a question |  |  |  | at the end | often *property* | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 4 | **rise** |  | your voice |  |  |  |  |  | nom rise «event intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: music — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Singing or playing exactly in tune.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:m2:1
# text = Singing or playing exactly in tune.
1	Singing	sing	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	playing	play	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	conj	_	_
4	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	tune	tune	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **play** | gerund |  |  |  | tune |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Use rising intonation when you ask a yes-no question.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x1:1
# text = Use rising intonation when you ask a yes-no question.
1	Use	use	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	rising	rise	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	amod	_	_
3	intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	ask	ask	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
8	yes	yes	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
11	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | imperative | you *not said here* | rising intonation |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent intonation=Patient |
| 2 | **rise** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **question** *speech: other* |  | yes |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her intonation showed she was joking.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x2:1
# text = Her intonation showed she was joking.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	joking	joke	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | Her intonation |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **joke** *speech: other* | past · progressive | intonation |  |  |  |  |  | vn chit\_chat-37.6 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **intonate** |  | Her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom intonation «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reading aloud with good intonation makes a story come alive.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x3:1
# text = Reading aloud with good intonation makes a story come alive.
1	Reading	read	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	aloud	aloud	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
10	alive	alive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | with good intonation; aloud *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **make** | present | Reading | a story |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **come** | infinitive | a story *not said here* |  |  |  |  | alive *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The violinist worked on her intonation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x4:1
# text = The violinist worked on her intonation.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	violinist	violinist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | the violinist |  |  |  |  | on violinist's intonation | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent on intonation=Theme |
| 2 | **intonate** |  | violinist |  |  |  |  |  | nom intonation «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In some Australian and New Zealand speech, statements end with a rising intonation.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x5:1
# text = In some Australian and New Zealand speech, statements end with a rising intonation.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
2	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	7	det	_	_
3	Australian	Australian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	New	New	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	flat	_	_
6	Zealand	Zealand	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
7	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
9	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	end	end	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	rising	rise	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	amod	_	_
14	intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | present | statements |  |  | some Australian speech |  | with a rising intonation | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality PP.subeventuality»: agent=Affector with intonation=Subeventuality |
| 2 | **rise** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Intonation can turn Really. into Really?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x6:1
# text = Intonation can turn Really. into Really?
1	Intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	Really	really	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Really	really	ADV	RB	_	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | can | Intonation |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme into really=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No explanation could convey an adequate idea of the intonation and pronunciation which Uncle Remus brought to bear upon this wonderful word.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:intonation:x7:1
# text = No explanation could convey an adequate idea of the intonation and pronunciation which Uncle Remus brought to bear upon this wonderful word.
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	2	det	_	_
2	explanation	explanation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	convey	convey	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	adequate	adequate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	intonation	intonation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	pronunciation	pronunciation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
13	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	16	obj	_	_
14	Uncle	Uncle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
15	Remus	Remus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	flat	_	_
16	brought	bring	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	bear	bear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
19	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
20	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	22	det	_	_
21	wonderful	wonderful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **convey** | could | no explanation | a adequate idea of the intonation and pronunciation |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent idea=Topic |
| 2 | **bring** | past | Uncle | the intonation and pronunciation |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **bear** | to-infinitive | Uncle *not said here* |  |  |  |  | upon this wonderful word | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [intolerant](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/intolerant/)
- next →: [intone](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/intone/)
- ↑ back to [I in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/)